Published: March 21, 2026
"What are you planning to do with Ria?"
Since we entered the forest, Crow had been oddly sullen, so I asked him that.
A twig snapped under Crow’s foot.
Judging by the sun’s position, we were moving at a pretty fast pace.
At this rate we'd probably reach the rendezvous point around the same time as the heroes.
From the monster stats we’d seen so far, with Mr. Zeal among the heroes they wouldn’t be instantly wiped out, but it wouldn't be surprising if one or two were missing.
That’s how dangerous this forest was.
It’s only natural there were no signs of people or wild animals living here.
Maybe splitting from the heroes had been a mistake.
"Is that any of your business?"
I instinctively swallowed at Crow’s sharp gaze.
Crow didn’t react to me and just kept walking.
Before entering the forest, Crow would have sneered at me or said something sarcastic — at least he would have responded — but now he didn’t even have that energy.
I’d never seen him this irritable.
"Akira, is Crow acting weird?"
Amelia leaned in and peered at me when I stopped because of Crow’s killing intent.
I patted her worried head.
"Yeah. But poking too deep would be a bad move. I’ll keep an eye on things for now. What about you, Amelia?"
Amelia thought for a moment but decided quickly.
It’s rare for her to agonize over decisions. She might take a little longer deciding food, but that’s it.
Maybe decisiveness is part of being a princess.
"I’ll keep watch too. I should tell Ria and Amaryllis. Don’t touch Crow right now — he’s dangerous."
Her description of Crow was spot-on and made me laugh.
"Hey you two, hurry up or we’ll get left behind!"
Amaryllis, who’d recovered quickly after our short break, called out through the trees.
Her intonation reminded me of a Kansai-speaking girl who’d probably be with the heroes.
At first she’d been stiff and polite, intimidated by the titles — Elf race princess, Beastmen former princess, former hero party member, hero summoner — but she’d relaxed.
Despite our rocky first meeting, she apparently became affectionate to people she trusted like a dog.
When we first encountered her in the underground cell she’d been tense because lives were at stake. Or maybe she hisses at strangers like a cat.
"I’m coming! …Anyway, we’ll stay out of Ria and Crow’s way. Right?"
I nodded at Amelia’s confirmation.
Crow’s prickliness made even me not want to talk to him. Amaryllis only knew the prickly Crow; but Ria and Amelia should stay away.
Ria looked like talking to me had eased her a bit, but she hadn’t yet managed to talk to Crow, so she seemed unsure when to approach.
Before entering the forest Crow had been chatty, but now he seemed lost. Or rather, Crow’s bad mood was throwing him off.
Both Crow and Ria had been emotionally unstable since we entered the forest, leaving Amelia and me confused.
"Yeah, that’s fine."
At least until we knew why Crow was so upset, we had to keep things as they were.
His mood reminded me of my sister when she first wakes up: irritable, annoyed by everything others do.
We walked on in near silence for a long time.
Seeing that the monsters’ levels were uniformly the labyrinth’s lowest layer, I gave a dry smile.
Maybe the heroes weren’t just missing one or two members — they could be annihilated.
I wanted them to be alive, but reality rarely indulges my hopes.
If this world had been kinder, Commander Saran might still be alive. My naïveté cost lives again.
"Monsters incoming!!"
Amaryllis, whose search skill level was higher than mine, shouted. Amelia and I raised a hand in reply.
Even if the heroes were in trouble, for us these were, frankly, trash mobs.
Amelia’s gravity magic, my shadow magic, plus Crow and Beastmen princess Ria — we were almost overkill.
Still, we remained cautious.
"What is that? A robot?"
We blinked at the creature that appeared while on guard.
A blunt silver armor, unnatural in the forest, confirmed it was unequivocally a robot locking its targeting on us.
It moved smoothly like a human, but it was obvious there wasn’t a human inside.